Chainsaw Carving: The Art & Craft (Paperback)

~ (Author), Hal McIntosh (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Long considered one of woodcraft's more interesting (and more dangerous) parlor tricks, chainsaw carving is familiar to most people. However, until now there has been very little, if any, how-to information for beginners unfortunate for such a potentially risky craft. MacIntosh, a professional chainsaw carver since the 1960s, shows how to select and care for a saw and how to complete a number of basic cuts. He offers step-by-step instructions for making a life-sized heron, a bear's head, and a three-dimensional log cabin scene. The colorful gallery showing the work of MacIntosh and a number of other artists is striking in both its beauty and its diversity. There is a short but pragmatic section on safety. This fascinating title will round out large public library collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Startling wooden figures that have been carved with a chainsaw can be seen around the country at fairs, in yards, and on ESPN's logger competitions. This is the first book that explains all of the elements of the chainsaw carving art: techniques, equipment, safety precautions, and aesthetic considerations. Step-by-step tutorials show how the Blue Heron garden sculpture and the popular Black Bear are carved. Dozens of project ideas, accompanied by hundreds of color photos of spectacular carvings, are also included. Anyone who has ever handled a chainsaw will find this book irresistible.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing Company (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565231287
• ISBN-13: 978-1565231283
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #784,418 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing: NOT an instructional book!, October 4, 2003

By	Mr. Anderson (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

Disregard the comments "until now there has been very little, if any, how-to information for beginners" or "Excellent resource for the beginner" noted in other reviews. They are WRONG! I am a beginner, and after reading this book cover to cover I don't think I am anything more than the same beginner I was when I started. Here's the breakdown of the book:

140 pages total. 60 pages are just color pictures of what I would classify as very advanced carvings and no info or details on how they were made. 28 pages are chainsaw facts, including 9 pages of color chainsaw pictures (no comments or advice on one model vs another, just lots of pictures of chainsaws...big deal). in the remaining 47 pages dedicated to "carving", there are only four actual projects. Of these four, just two have multiple pictures and step-by-step instructions.

For a beginner who is looking to learn this beautiful art, I estimate there about 30 pages of actual content you are interested in. Save your money and look for something else! That's exactly what I'm going to do right after I post this review.

3.0 out of 5 stars Where would we be without Hal?, December 13, 2008

By	Karen Tiede (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Hal Macintosh predates the internet, predates Photoshop, predates MS Paint. This book shows the field before information was readily available, when the only way to learn how to carve was to watch carvers at contests. Many carvers in the field got their start from Hal's books, when this was the only source of written information about the field.

Learning to chainsaw carve using Hal's books alone is a total immersion process, wherein you are not sure how the parts you're seeing quite fit together until one day you carve something new and step back and say, "I didn't know I could do that!" Then you look at the pictures of other people's carvings and realize yours are just as good.

No chainsaw library is complete with only these books, but no library is complete without them, either.

5.0 out of 5 stars Chainsaw Carving: The Art & Craft by Hal Macintosh., December 14, 2003

By	Ruben Pauly (Garfield, Arkansas United States) - See all my reviews

I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get started with chainsaw carving! Step by step instructions on several projects and loads of information on chainsaws, sprockets and bars to help you pick the right equipment for the job, technical information etc..
It is one of the best Chainsaw Carving books on the market at this time!